Foy Vance wins inaugural Northern Ireland Music Prize

Since 2006 Foy Vance has brought out 3 albums: ‘Hope’, ‘The Melrose’ and with the guidance of Glassnote Records (the label of Mumford and Sons and Justin Nozuka among many others) is producing his newest album, ‘Joy of Nothing’, to be released this year and. He has taken traditional Irish Alternative music by storm and recently supported Ed Sheeran on his 2012 tour aswell as touring with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Michael Kiwanuka, Marcus Foster and Snow Patrol.

Foy Vance was born in Bangor, Northern Ireland. Foy’s father, being a preacher, has hugely influence his music and was located in Oklahoma where he was exposed to an abundance of musical traditions; leading his music to become a mixture of traditional Irish music and American country. When he returned to Ireland he began to write his own music, obviously inspired by the experiences of his youth. Foy Vance’s lyrics talk of the ‘sweet hurt of love and what it does to the men and women involved with all of the fallout’.

Many artists do not find the moral direction of their sound straight away but since Vance’s debut, “Hope,” in 2007, he has made the flutter and flail of happiness his chief export. It is clear that the energy put in to each song is totally genuine and heartfelt. His music encourages you to be at peace if only for three or four minutes.

His recent record “Joy of Nothing” ‘makes love feel like the most alive and powerful force in the world. It presents a collection of 10 stories that show — with rousing, tear-the-sky-out-of-the-ceiling and all of the bodies out of the ground passion and equally impassioned tenderness – how everyone chooses their own verses’. Despite being about heartbreak they effortlessly find a way to be uplifting to reach out to all of those experiencing similar troubles to never stop looking fo that perfect one.

Foy Vance is a soul-builder and if you ever get the chance to see him live you will understand that the passion and purpose put into each song would make you a fool to turn such an opportunity down.